Guest Editorial

BY LAWRENCE SELLIN, PHD | JULY 9, 2014

Is the Republican establishment using race-baiting and voter fraud?

Apparently, the Republican establishment will use any means necessary to suppress spontaneous outbreaks of democracy among ordinary Americans.

Incumbent and Republican establishment darling Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) faced a tough challenge in the June 3rd Republican primary from Tea Party-backed State Senator Chris McDaniel. Although Cochran maintained a lead over McDaniel in terms of campaign finances, the primary results did not provide a clear winner. McDaniel (49.5 percent, 155,040) received more votes than Cochran (49 percent, 153,654), but a third candidate, Thomas Carey (1.5 percent, 4,789), took just enough votes so that McDaniel did not receive the 50 percent of the vote necessary to avoid a runoff.

One week later, the Republican establishment was stunned when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who was in line to be the next House Speaker, was crushed in his primary by Tea Party-backed economics professor Dave Brat, who received 55.8 percent of the vote compared to Cantor's 44.2 percent.

That result set the stage for an epic battle between a battered Republican establishment and a rejuvenated Tea Party in the June 24, 2014 Mississippi Senatorial run-off between Cochran and McDaniel, a contest the Republican establishment knew it could not afford to lose.

The Republican establishment went into full panic mode when a WPA Research poll conducted between June 9th and 10th showed McDaniel's lead over Cochran among 500 likely GOP primary runoff voters had shot up to eight points, 49 percent and 41 percent, respectively.

Clearly, Cochran was losing ground among Republican voters and the Republican establishment likely then decided that it could only close the gap by adopting Democratic Party tactics and soliciting cross-over votes from registered Democrats.

Cochran used Democratic Party talking points about Tea Party candidates, leveling personal attacks against McDaniel, calling him an "extremist" and "dangerous."

The Republican establishment has now been accused of playing the race card against McDaniel during the run-off campaign, according to Fox News and reported by Breitbart.

"On Tuesday's [July 1, 2014] broadcast of Fox News Channel's "Hannity," network correspondent Ainsley Earhardt unveiled one of the attack radio spots that aired on stations around the state including WMGO 1370 AM in Canton, Mississippi.

The spot urges listeners to participate in the vote and warns if voters fail to do so, it will result in the loss of entitlement benefits and funding for black universities.

‘If someone tells you that by voting today, you cannot vote in November - it's just a Tea Party, bald-faced lie." Are you going to let the clock run out on today? By not voting, you are saying 'take away all of my government programs, such as food stamps, early breakfast and lunch programs, millions of dollars to our black universities.' Everything we and our families depend on that comes from Washington will be cut. Mississippi will never be the same. The question is, will you spend $5 on gas to vote, or allow the Tea Party to send us back to the good ol' bad days? Vote against the Tea Party. Vote Thad Cochran.'

Earhart identified the group responsible for the ad to be a group called Citizens for Progress, which according to Earhart is a group tied to former RNC chair and Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)."

In addition, a black Mississippi pastor has emerged to claim that Cochran's campaign paid "thousands" of Democrats, fifteen dollars each to vote for Cochran in the June 24 Republican run-off.

Cochran (50.9 percent, 189,355) "won" the run-off election over McDaniel (49.1 percent, 182,756) by a slim margin of 6,599 votes, where there may have been, according to McDaniel, up to 40,000 Democrats voting.

The McDaniel campaign now asserts that at least 3,300 voters, who casted ballots in the June 3 Democratic primary, then crossed over, allegedly illegally, to vote in the June 24 GOP primary runoff.

This election oozes signs of corruption.

If allowed to stand without investigation and authentication, Thad Cochran will not be a Senator from the state of Mississippi, but will be representing only the Republican establishment, elected by the Democratic Party.

Lawrence Sellin, Ph.D. is a retired colonel with 29 years of service in the US Army Reserve and a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. Colonel Sellin is the author of "Restoring the Republic: Arguments for a Second American Revolution". He receives email at lawrence.sellin@gmail.com